Growing Hope
by Mutant Ninja Penguin
Summary: The Pevensies are pulled back into Narnia against their will, along with a modern day girl. An old enemy has returned, and when the dark side gets a new warrior, it's up to them to figure out who it is.But what happens when Edmund falls in love with her?
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own the Chronicles of Narnia**

**OK, so this is based on the movies, and in the story, Lucy is 14, Edmund is 16, Susan is 18, Peter is 19, and Caspian is 20. I couldn't find any of the characters actual ages, so that's an estimate of how old they are after Voyage of the Dawn Treader. And the title is based on the song The Call by Regina Spektor, which I also don't own.**

"Susan!"

"Lucy!"

Lucy Pevensie dropped her bag and ran to hug her older sister. "I've missed you!" The younger girl hugged her sister tightly, not wanting to let go, afraid it might be a dream.

"Welcome to America, Lucy." Susan told her sister, laughing softly. Lucy disentangled herself to throw herself at her mother.

"Mom!" She hugged her mom, who wrapped her arms around her too, holding her gently. Lucy let go and went back to grab her overstuffed bag. She watched, somewhat impatiently, as her two brothers greeted the rest of the family too. Peter had joined them too when their parents had sent word that they could all finally come to America.

"Where do we get to stay?" Lucy asked looking around the house, wanting to go explore every inch of it. Susan smiled and gestured to follow her. The house was big, all wooden floors and soaring ceilings. There were windows in every room, showing the trees and gardens outside the house. Lucy, Edmund, and Peter trailed after Susan as she showed them around, where the kitchen was, and the dining room, where Mom's bedroom was.

"Here's your bedroom, Lu. You're right next to me, and the boys are across the hall. The bathroom is right down the hall, next to Peter's room." Susan opened the door for Lucy, who immediately ran in, dropping her bag onto the bed. The walls were a light blue, like the color of a robin's egg. White furniture stood around the room and a clock hung above the bed, showing it was two pm. Darker blue sheets were on the bed, with white pillows.

"I love it!" Lucy said decisively, still looking around the room. Susan smiled and closed the door quietly, going to make sure their other siblings were doing ok. Lucy sighed and sat down on the chair that was meant to be for the desk. Pulling it over to the tall windows, she looked outside, watching the gardens and trees blow gently in the wind. Resting her elbows on the window sill, she wished not for the first time that in her world, the trees would dance and talk, that dryads would emerge from the rough bark.

She got up, knowing she should unpack some, but not wanting to. Deciding to do it later, she walked to her bed and dumped out everything from the bag, searching the mess for what she wanted. Grinning, she grabbed the book that was hiding under a blouse and sat back down on the chair. Stroking the spine, she looked out the window again, and then opened the book. Finding her bookmark, she started reading, getting absorbed in the story. A few hours later, she finished the book to hear someone impatiently knocking on the door, the strikes getting harder and louder. Setting the book down gently, she ran to the door and pulled it open to find Edmund waiting.

"I've been waiting for ages! What were you doing in there?" Edmund demanded, staring down at her.

"Reading," she replied simply. "Why are you here?"

"Of course you were," he said, rolling his eyes. "Can you go one day without a book?" Lucy shrugged, curious about why he was there. "Mom wanted me to tell you that dinner was in ten minutes. Although," he glanced at the clock above her head, "It's more like five minutes now."

Lucy nodded, closing the door behind her, and followed Edmund to the dining room. Susan was already at the table, and Peter was helping their mother bring out food. Sliding into the seat next to Susan, Lucy looked around the chamber. Windows let streams of light in, illuminating the room with natural light. A door on the far end led to the kitchen, where she could see Peter trying to balance dishes to take to the table. An oak table was covered in a white tablecloth, which had plates and silverware spread on it.

"What's for dinner? I'm starving." Edmund sat down in the chair opposite Susan, eagerly looking towards the open kitchen door. Susan rolled her eyes at his expression.

"We're having soup, Mother will bring it out in a minute." Right on cue, Peter and Mrs. Pevensie walked in, setting the dishes in the middle of the table. Peter sat next to Edmund, as Mrs. Pevensie sat at the head.

"Go ahead and eat," Mrs. Pevensie told her children, smiling slightly as the two boys attack the food. Peter sloshed the red soup into his bowl, grabbing a piece of bread at the same time. The girls waited patiently for the boys to finish getting their food before they collected theirs. Gently ladling some soup into her bowl, Lucy passed the serving utensil to Susan, before starting to eat. Lucy looked out the window, which was conveniently behind Edmund and in front of her. Rain had started to fall gently, hitting the tall windows before sliding to the ground. The trees swayed with the wind, swinging back and forth.

"Lucy? Lucy, are you listening?" Peter's voice broke her out of her thoughts. She focused on Peter, who was looking at her exasperatedly. She looked at him questioningly until he repeated his question.

"We wanted to know what you thought of America so far?" Lucy thought for a moment before answering.

"It's brighter than London is. And the cities seem more rushed. But out here it's nicer, more peaceful." Lucy shrugged, going back to her food.

"London does seem gloomier than America," Edmund said thoughtfully, before quickly finishing his second bowl of soup. Susan rolled her eyes at him and then daintily lifting her spoon to her lips, quickly swallowing the red mixture. Lucy finished, then waited patiently for the rest of her family to finish. When the family was excused, she ran to her room, slipping into the blue room. Staring at the mess on her bed, she sighed, knowing she had to clean it to be able to sleep. Walking over to the bed, she collected all the books in the pile and stumbled over to the small bookcase, setting down the swaying tower of books and starting to organize them onto the shelves.

Once her books were on the bookcase, she got back up and walked over to bed, sitting down gently on the edge. She became aware to a small ache in her chest. Frowning slightly, she ignored it, starting to fold the crumbled shirts. Once those were down, she put them in her dresser and went to do her skirts. The ache stayed, persistent and annoying, slowly getting bigger. Hoping it would go away, she finished unpacking, getting everything off her bed and into the proper place in her new room.

The ache had only gotten bigger, feeling as if she had lost something big, but she wasn't sure what she had lost. Rubbing the spot over her heart, she walked to her door, opening it quietly, looking down the hall. No one was in it, but Edmund's door was open slightly, and she could hear him muttering. Leaving her door open, she crossed the corridor and knocked on his door.

"Come in!" he called, so Lucy pushed the door open. Edmund was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He turned his head to look at his younger sister. His room was all green, with dark brown furniture placed around the room.

"What do you want, Lu?" he asked, going back to staring at the ceiling. Lucy walked over to his bed and sat down gently on the edge of his bed.

"Are you feeling, ok?" she asked cautiously, feeling self conscious. Edmund looked at her curiously.

"What do you mean?" he asked idly. Lucy wondered what was so interesting about the blank ceiling.

"Does your chest hurt? Do you have an ache that won't go away?" She looked out his window to see the rain beating into the ground, bursting like flowers when they hit the ground. Edmund was looking confused now.

"Now that you mention it, yes, I do. And it's really uncomfortable," he sat up, leaning against the gleaming headboard. Crossing his arms over his chest, he swung his legs over the side of the green bedding and started to pace, rubbing his chest absently. "It's weird, why would we both have it?"

"I don't know, do you think Susan or Peter has it too?" Lucy sat up straighter as the idea hit her. "Let's go see!" Jumping up, she beat Edmund to the door and ran diagonally to Susan's room. Knocking impatiently, she shifted from foot to foot as Edmund came up behind her. He was much taller than her, almost as tall as Peter. Susan opened the door, slight annoyance evident on her face.

"Yes, what do you want?" She said, using the same words Edmund had earlier.

"Do you feel alright?" Lucy replied immediately, watching her older sister closely. Susan looked confused.

"Do you mean do I feel sick?" Susan clarified. "I have a sort of ache, but other than that, I feel fine." Lucy felt like frost had suddenly covered her body, making her cold.

"Well, this probably isn't good." Edmund stated behind her. "Considering that all three of us have the same problem." Susan raised her eyebrows, but was interrupted by Peter coming out of his room.

"You guys are loud, what are you talking about?" Peter left his door open, as he leaned in the doorway, examining the small group.

"Do you have a sort of ache? In your chest?" Lucy rushed to say, hoping Peter would say no and it was all just a coincidence.

"How did you know? I've had it for the past half hour. What?" he looked around at his sibling's faces. "Do you have it too?" Lucy watched as shock flashed across his face. "Why would we all have it?"

"We don't know, Pete. That's what we want o figure out." Susan opened her door wider and let everyone into her room. He bed side table's lamp was on, giving off a soft glow. The pink walls had shadows thrown across them as the sun went down.

"Maybe-" Lucy started, but the ache in her chest suddenly intensified, going from small to large and making her gasp. It was like she was between to unyielding walls, slowly coming together and crushing her. The pain grew stronger and stronger, until it suddenly dissipated, going back to the quiet ache it had been before. The rest of her siblings were gasping and struggling to breathe too; obviously having gone through what she had.

"What the heck was that?" Edmund panted, sitting down on the floor and leaning against the closed door. "That was painful."

"I have no idea," Susan answered, breathless. "I've never felt anything like it before."

"Do you think-" but Lucy didn't get to finish her thought again as the pain suddenly returned, stronger than before. Lucy collapsed onto Susan's bed, trying to pull air into her lungs. Every movement hurt, and she almost cried out in pain. This time, the pain slowly ebbed away, until it returned to the original ache.

"Do you think it could have anything to do with Narnia?" Lucy finished her thought, her eyes lighting up as she thought of the other world.

"Why would it? We were all told we couldn't return." Edmund said bitterly, rubbing his chest.

"And entering Narnia has never been painful before." Peter added, leaning back in his chair.

"Maybe Aslan changed his mind?" Lucy asked excitedly, a smile forming on her lips. She was about to elaborate when the pain hit again. This time, it was like a train had come and run her over. It was indescribable, like white hot fire being shot into her veins and running through her body, getting hotter and hotter each time her heart beat. Lucy gritted her teeth and curled up into a ball, her fingernails digging into her knees as she gripped them tightly. She was about to scream when the earth seemed to fall away, leaving her hanging in midair and in the dark. She stayed suspended for a moment, a moment that seemed to distort time and stretch it as long as possible. The moment ended and she started to fall, a kaleidoscope of colors coming into existence. This time she did scream, colors and wind rushing past her. And the last thing she heard before she hit hard earth was a single note, floating through the air before settling around her like a blanket. And then darkness overcame her and she succumbed to it.

**What did you think? Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own the Chronicles of Narnia series – book or movie. **

(Edmund POV)

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was a clear blue sky. Keeping my eyes fixed on the sky, I tried to remember what had just happened. Memories slowly flood into my brain. Coming to America. Seeing Mother and Susan again. The ache that turned into a burning pain. And then passing out. I groaned, shifting slowly until I was sitting up. Looking around, I realized that I was lying on a beach.

"It's the same beach we found on our second trip to Narnia." I whispered to myself. Mustering up the strength, I stand up and turn around. Up at the top of the hill, a white castle blocked out half the sky. I felt myself start to smile.

"Cair Paravel. They rebuilt it." I remember my siblings and turn back around. Lucy was sprawled out farther down the beach, closer to the sparkling water. Susan and Peter were next to each other about halfway between the water and the tree line. I was farther to the left of them. Susan was starting to sit up, so I ran over to her.

"Where are we?" She groaned, rubbing her forehead. She looked up at me, then behind me. Her eyes widened. "No, we are not… We're in Narnia?"

"Yes, we do happen to be in Narnia." I told her, moving towards Peter and shaking him gently.

"Why are we in Narnia?" Susan looked annoyed. "Aslan told us we were never allowed back here."

"Well, he must have changed his mind." I said, letting go of Peter as he sat up.

"Do any of you have a headache?" Was the first thing he said "Because I do." I shrug.

"I do not, I am going to go wake up Lucy. I think we're on the beach we were on when we came to Narnia the second time." I turned around and started down the beach towards Lucy. But Lucy was not there.

"Where is Lucy?" I murmured, scanning the beach. I walked to Lucy's original position and saw the imprint in the sand where Lucy lied. A small set of footprints walked towards the water, veering off to the right. I followed the tracks with my eyes as they led farther across the beach. I saw the footprints round a corner right as a scream ripped through the air.

"Lucy?" Peter's voice came from behind me and I started running towards Lucy's voice. Peter ran past me, reaching Lucy before either Susan or I could. I raced around the rock and skidded to a stop next to Lucy. Lucy turned and hugged me, turning her face away from the scene in front of us. Susan walked past us and kneeled next to Peter.

Peter was squatting next to a girl's body. Dark blond hair spread out around her head like a fan, thick and curly. Most of her legs were bare and extremely short, rough, blue pants were all she had on. Dark purple fabric clung to her torso, held together only by thin straps on her shoulders. She had delicate features, green eyes and light pink lips.

"She's beautiful." Peter breathed, staring at the girl in odd clothes.

"And dead." Susan said somewhat dryly, holding the girl's wrist. She dropped it next to the body. "She has no pulse."

"What's wrong with her eyes?" Lucy asked timidly, loosening her grip her me. I step closer to the stranger, Lucy trailing behind more slowly. Once I get closer, I could see that she meant. Her eyes, which had looked normal and green at first, were covered in an odd film. Looking at them straight on, they were misty and clouded.

"It looks like ice is covering them." I said, looking at the girl curiously. Who was she? What was she doing here?

"We need to bring her to the castle." Peter stood up suddenly, brushing his hands on his trousers.

"I cannot believe they rebuilt it so fast." I said, stretching. I watched as Peter picked up the girl and Susan got up.

"We don't know what year it is here, five hundred years might have passed." Susan said.

"Do you think Caspian is still king?" Lucy followed Peter back to the beach, Susan behind her.

"Who knows?" Susan snapped, looking annoyed. "Why do we have to be back here? I was getting used to living without this place."

"Wait a moment." The other three turned to me. "Did you hear something? I could have sworn I heard someone gasping."

"I didn't hear anyone." Peter said, adjusting the girl in his arms. I looked around the beach, trying to locate where I had heard the sound.

"Listen for a moment." I insisted, stopping in my tracks. I concentrated on the sounds around me. I could hear the water eating rhythmically against the sand, the trees rustling at the very edges of the beach. And cutting through the peaceful aura was the faint, jagged sound of a person breathing heavily.

"I can hear it." Susan broke the silence quietly. "We should go see who it is."

I broke off from my siblings and started running in the general direction of the breathing. The farther up the beach I got, the louder the sound got until it was the only thing I could hear. Another outcropping of rocks was to the left, and I circled around it. And there on the ground was another girl.

She was not quite as tall as the first girl, but she was definitely not short, probably around my height. She's in the same short blue pants as the first girl, but a green top with thicker straps. She was writhing in what seemed like pain, although she looked fine physically. Her eyes were closed, and her hands were clutching her stomach. Pale red hair wrapped loosely around her neck as she kept squirming.

"I found her!" I yelled to my siblings as I dropped to my knees beside the girl. I carefully guided her hands away from her stomach, trying to see what was wrong. Her shirt had ridden up her torso, showing her bare stomach. Everything looked fine; no sign of any wounds. One of her hands escaped my grasp and flew towards my face, slapping me hard and then returned to her stomach. Pausing briefly to rub my cheek, I grab both her wrists and pin them to the ground as Susan and Lucy reach us.

"What happened?" Susan asked, looking horrified. Lucy rushes over next to me.

"I don't know! When I reached her, she was holding her stomach and twitching." I said desperately as Peter catches up to us, the dead girl still in his arms. Placing her gently in the sand, he came over and sat on her other side.

"She doesn't have any injuries." I told him, still restraining her wrists. Her violent struggle was slowing down, and a few tense minutes later, it stopped entirely, and her arms went limp. I cautiously let go of her wrists, and when she didn't move, I retracted my hands entirely.

"We should go to Cair Paravel." Susan told us. "The girl needs help." I nodded.

"How do we get both of them there?" I asked, gesturing towards the two girls.

"We should-" Peter began, but the girl moaned, cutting him off. She slowly opened her eyes, revealing pale blue irises. Rubbing her temples, she slowly sat up, ignoring the four of us.

"Where the hell am I?" she asked, closing her eyes again. She moved backwards so that she was leaning against the rock behind her. Dropping her hands, she opened her eyes again.

"And who the hell are you?" She looked over the four of us disdainfully. Susan sat up straighter.

"Why are you here?" Lucy asked curiously, ignoring the girl's questions.

"I have no freaking idea, and if I did I would find a way to leave. All I know is that I was peacefully hanging out with Nikki, and then _boom!_ here I am in this weird place being stared at by strangers!" the red haired girl snapped, crossing her arms.

"What is your name?" Lucy continued, still curious.

"Who are you people?" the girl repeated her earlier question.

"We're the Pevensies, I'm Lucy, this is Peter," Lucy pointed at Peter, "that's Susan, and next to me is Edmund."

"Eva," the girl, Eva, said reluctantly. "Now where the hell am I?" Eva started to stand up, but immediately fell back down, her hands back on her stomach.

"Are you okay?" Peter asked gently as Eva's face twisted in pain.

"Well, last I checked there was a huge hole in my stomach." Eva looked down at her body. "But now there's none, so I am flippin confused."

"There was a hole in your stomach?" Susan looked horrified by the thought.

"How did you get here?" I shifted so I'm sitting cross-legged in the sand. Eva turned to me.

"Well," She started, "Me and Nikki were walking to her boyfriend's house, when Nikki shrieked and fell. But when she hit the ground, she just disappeared. No big puff of smoke, nothing. It was like the sidewalk swallowed her. I stood there shocked for a minute, but then I felt a searing pain in my stomach, but it was cold, like an icicle had been shoved into me. When I looked down, there was a gaping wound right there." Eva poked a spot on her stomach, "And that's when I passed out. And then I got here, surrounded by you weirdos." Eva rubbed her stomach.

"How did you get here?" Eva asked, seemingly calmer.

"Same way you did, really." Peter said, sitting back. "We started having pains in our chests, and when they became unbearable, we all fainted. This is Narnia, by the way."

"Narnia?" she repeated.

"What are you wearing?" Susan broke into the conversation, staring at Eva's clothes. Eva stared back.

"I am wearing jeans and a tank top. What are you wearing?" Eva threw back at the other girl.

"Proper clothes, unlike yours, which show an alarming amount of leg." Susan smoothed her skirt.

"Wait, when are you from?" Eva sat up straight suddenly.

"America," I said, confused.

"What decade is it?" she persisted, looking at us.

"The 1940's," I replied slowly. Eva stared at me, not even blinking. I look away from her burning gaze. "When are you from?"

"2000's," she breathed, "2012."

"How is that possible?" Lucy asked, voicing my exact bewildered thoughts. Eva shrugged.

"We're here," she said dryly. "I think it's possible. Wait, have any of you seen Nikki? She's tall, blonde hair, purple shirt." Eva looked around anxiously. All of us simultaneously looked down.

"About her," I started. "There's something you need to know." The little blood in her face drained, making her pale face chalk white.

"What happened to her?" Eva demanded, "What did you do to her?" her voice rose in both pitch and volume with every word.

"We found her dead." I said quietly, playing with my fingers. Eva stared at me again, and this time I couldn't break her stare. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Peter asked again. Eva glares at him.

"I'm restraining myself from attacking one of you. And my best friend is apparently dead. But yes, I'm okay." She said mockingly sweet, making Peter blush and look down.

"Stupid question," he murmured.

"I want to see her body." Eva got on her knees, glaring at all of us. I stood and held out my hand. Rolling her eyes, she grasped my hand tightly and pulled herself up, where she promptly started to sway.

"Where is she?" Eva swung her head around, throwing herself off balance. She started to stumble, but I stepped forward and put my hand on her back until she was steady, then pointed to the body partially hidden by one of the rocks. Eva lurched forward, falling to her knees beside her friend's body. Peter climbed onto one of the rocks. Eva's ragged breathing comes back as she stared at Nikki's body. After a few minutes, Eva got up and started to walk away from us.

"Where are you going?" Lucy called out to her. Eva pointed to Cair Paravel.

"The palace, I want to learn about this place." Eva broke into a run, and was fine for a couple steps, until her legs gave out from under her. Peter got off his rock and we all ran to her.

"I can't walk, run, or basically move." She muttered, looking mad. "Bleepity bleepity bleepity bleep."

"What?" Susan asked, but Eva ignored her.

"We have to get up there." Eva looked longingly at the white marble.

"Yes, we do. We have friends up there." I told her. "But you cannot walk."

"We could carry her." Peter suggested. "Ed, you carry her, I'll carry the other one. And the girls can start towards Cair Paravel."

"Nikki," Eva said, but it lacked emotion. "Come on, boy with the weird name. Time to carry me."

I stepped forward awkwardly, and slid my arms under her shoulders and knees, effortlessly picking the girl up. She was oddly light. Peter ran back to grab Nikki.

"My name is not weird." I started walking towards the slope that would lead us to Cair Paravel.

"Yes it is. Edmund?" She snorted. "I have never heard anyone else with that name."

"Then it is not weird, it is different, unique." I walked faster to try and catch up to Susan and Lucy.

"Edmund?" She sounded tired.

"Yes?" I avoided the first tree I came to, ducking under the low branches.

"I think I'm going to faint again."

"That's not good."

"Nope, but I don't feel great." She agreed, then fell silent. I looked down to see her eyes closed and her breathing evening out.

"Oh, and Edmund?"

"Yes?" I asked again, surprised she was still awake.

"I'm sorry." I paused to look down again.

"What for?"

* * *

**I am so so so so so so so so sorry for not updating in, like, a month and a half. School was being evil and decided to give me all the hard projects in the last term. But now it's over! YAY!**

**So, I didn't love this chapter. I can't figure out how to write a) Susan, and b) their old less modern talk. So if you guys have any helpful tips, tell me. I really want to improve this. And on that note, review! Reviews=motivation, motivation=chapters.**

**Ok, I'm going to leave now.**

**Adios!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own the Chronicles of Narnia**

(Eva POV)

When I first came back to consciousness, the first organized thought that passed through my brain was that I was floating. Then the ache in my stomach intensified and I tried to curl into a ball.

"Stop moving or I'm going to drop you." A boy's voice admonished. I opened my eyes and saw Edmund's face hovering above mine. I blinked, and then tried to stand up.

"Let me up, I can walk to wherever we're going." All Edmund did was tighten his hold as I continued my struggle, ignoring the dull pain. "I feel better now, let me up!"

"You were able to move three steps earlier on flat ground, you won't be able to walk uphill." Edmund replied calmly, looking up. Craning my neck, I saw we were considerably closer to the castle on the cliff. And I realized Edmund was probably right. I huffed but didn't protest again.

"Whose castle is that? Your brother said you had friends up there." Edmund quickened his pace then glanced back down at me.

"I'm not sure; I don't know how long it has been since my last visit. Hopefully, Caspian is still king, and then there'll be people and creatures we know up there." I stared up at him, trying to make sense of his answer.

"What do you mean 'still king'? How long has it been since you were last here? Creatures? What do you mean by 'creatures'? Your brother seemed sure there would be friends up there, How can you be sure if you don't know who is up there?" Edmund remained silent for a minute as he navigated around a rock, and then started to answer my questions.

"Last time I was here Caspian was king, and it was a year ago for me. This world, Narnia, was first populated by creatures and animals before humans. And we'll have friends no matter up what there, because," he stared straight ahead, a blush starting to spread across his face, "my siblings and I were once kings and queens here."

I snorted derisively. "Yeah right. And I'm the queen of England." I stopped holding up my head and let it fall backwards so that the world was upside down.

"Excuse me?" Edmund said, confused. I smiled slightly at his confusion.

"Sorry, it's an expression me and my friends use a lot." I said, still upside down. "Wait, why does the castle look not done now?"

"That's because it's not. They're still working on it apparently. Most of it looks done though, just some of the smaller buildings around it. Although something is going on here though, if you listen you can hear voices above us." I stayed quiet and heard voices above me like he said, although we were too far away to understand them. Edmund was falling behind the other three, and I knew it was because he was carrying me.

"Can I please walk? If I fall on my face then you were right and you can carry me again but can I please try and walk?" I pleaded. The pain in my stomach had diminished slightly, and I felt well enough to try and walk again. Edmund sighed.

"Fine," Edmund gave in and gently lowered my feet to the ground. I gripped Edmund's arm as I gingerly put weight on them. Once I determined that I could hold my own weight I stood all the way up, still holding on to Edmund. We made our way slowly up the hill. I glanced up to see Edmund's three siblings waiting at the top of the hill.

"Hurry up!" Peter yelled down at us. My heart tightened as I looked at Nikki's body. I continued to trudge forward, my eyes returning to the ground in front of me. If I looked at Nikki again I was going to start sobbing, and I really didn't want to do that right then.

"You keep going; we'll be there in a few minutes." Edmund called back, and the three of them walked towards the castle.

"Are you alright?" He asked me quietly as we kept going up the hill, me leaning heavily on him.

"Fine," I replied through gritted teeth, Nikki continuing to flash before my eyes. "Just sore, that's all."

"You're missing your friend right now, am I right?" Edmund winced as I accidently dug my fingernails into his shoulder when I climbed slowly over a big tree root.

"Sorry!" I loosened my grip. I wasn't sure how to respond, surprised he had caught onto my thoughts so fast.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of, missing your friend." He told me, as we steadily approached the palace. "I've lost a lot of friends too." I looked at him in surprise, and he smiled faintly in return.

"You have? How?" I asked, only realizing after I should probably have not outright asked him how his friends had been lost. He didn't seem to mind though.

"Some of old age, I wasn't there for most of them though. I wish I could have been there. Others have died fighting."

"Like, fighting in World War Two?" I clarified as we reached the top of the hill. We seemed to have arrived at some sort of orchard. Apple trees were everywhere, and I saw through the trees a white stone wall with a wooden door. It was partly open and Peter's and Susan's voices could be heard coming from behind it. The two of us started towards it.

"Not exactly, no." Edmund said, and then I tripped over a root. I slammed into the ground, my hands barely making it front of my face before I hit. I didn't move for a minute as I tried to take air back into my lungs again.

"Are you alright?" Edmund crouched beside me. I looked up at him, my face feeling hot and I pushed myself up, letting my hair cover my face.

"Yeah, sorry about that." I answered quickly. The two of us were about halfway across the orchard. There was music and singing coming from above us. Edmund was staring upwards trying to figure out what was up there.

"Some sort of ceremony," he muttered. He quickened his pace and pulled on the wooden door until it opened enough for us to fit through. There was a set of stone stairs heading up, and the music was louder in the small area. Edmund started up the stairs, before turning back and motioning me to come up. The pain in my stomach was a quarter of what it was to begin with, which made moving easier. I followed Edmund up the stairs, falling behind as Edmund went faster and I got tired and moved slower. By the time I was at the top, Edmund was leaning against the wall waiting for me.

"Where are your brother and sisters?" I asked as Edmund lead me down a hallway and then down another. The music and singing was getting louder with every step we took.

"In front of us, somewhere." He responded before he turned another corner and started down yet another hallway. The music suddenly stopped and Edmund smiled slightly. "I think they found the celebration."

We turned another corner and two huge double doors appeared. They were extremely intricate, made of wood with gold designs around the edges. I had no idea how they were opened and closed, they looked ridiculously heavy. Lucy, Peter, and Susan were standing between them, and between them and the doors I couldn't see into the room they were staring at.

"What's going on?" I whispered to Edmund. He shrugged and stopped behind Lucy, who moved over to make room for him.

"All hail the kings and queens of old!" A voice proclaimed in the room, and it sounded like a thousand people fell to their knees. I pushed forward until I could see what was going on.

A huge hall greeted me, with dozens of marble columns in straight rows and a ceiling hundreds of feet up. A raised marble platform was at the back of the room had two thrones that stood in front of a glass wall that overlooked the ocean behind it. More glass and stained glass windows were in the walls around the room, filling it with sunlight. An area in front of the steps leading to the thrones was filled with people who had obviously been dancing before we had walked in. Now they were staring at us.

The two I assumed were the king and queen were in the middle of the dance floor. The man had a large gold crown on his head, studded with large gems. The woman had a gold tiara that looked like it had a pattern of flowers, but I wasn't sure.

"Rise," Peter said, and with a rustle of fabric everyone stood. Women were in bright beautiful dresses, while men were in long shiny robes. Most were dark haired, but the queen's was bright yellow. But there weren't just people though. There were half horse half people creatures that I thought were called centaurs. They wore armor not dressy clothes and most had swords strapped to their human waists. There were short people too, like really short. Most had long beards and food in their hands.

And there were animals! There was a bear walking on his back paws, with a stunned expression on his face, a badger that seemed bigger than normal badgers and was holding a bowl and spoon, and others. All had intelligent expressions and weren't attacking anyone. The room was about half and half, half people half, whatever everyone else was.

"Caspian!" Peter called, and the man with the crown stood and walked over. I nudged Edmund and he turned to look at me.

"Who's that?" I asked, and Edmund took a step back to be level with me.

"Caspian, he's the king of Narnia." He whispered back as the man stopped in front of us. He had dark hair like most of the people there, and was wearing intricate robes.

"Welcome Peter. How are you back in Narnia? And who is that girl?" he gestured to the Nikki. "She looks like she came from your world."

"Hello Caspian. I'm not entirely sure how we're back again. Is there somewhere I can place her? Maybe somewhere more private? She's…" he trailed off, looking like he wasn't sure how to respond. Caspian took a closer look at Nikki and realized what Peter was trying not to say.

"Of course. Come with me." He gestured for them to follow him as he left the room and walked down the hallway. I glanced back at the room of stunned people, and creatures, and then followed the King down the hall. I got lost fast, finally just following blindly until Caspian stopped in front of a door. He pushed it open and Peter walked in. It looked like a bedroom; there was a bed and a trunk at the end of it. Peter laid Nikki down on the bed and stepped back. Everyone was quiet for a moment, and I pushed forward until I was next to the bed. Nikki looked calm, something she almost never was when she was alive. She looked out of place in this new, formal world. Nikki would never fit in here. I felt a hand in my shoulder.

"We should go." Edmund told me, and I slowly backed away from the bed. Edmund closed the door, cutting off my view of my best friend. We started back to the hall.

"It's good to see you again Lucy, you too Susan and Edmund." Caspian turned towards me. I noticed him eye my clothes doubtfully, but he didn't comment. "And we haven't met before. Caspian the tenth." He held out his hand and I took it.

"Eva Harris." I answered. "What did we interrupt?"

"My wedding." He said simply. The four siblings turned to look at him in shock. He laughed at their expressions. "To Lilliandil. Edmund and Lucy, you remember her? Ramandu's daughter."

"Oh, I'm sorry for bursting in like we did." Peter said apologetically, and Caspian smiled.

"Don't be, you're friends. Would you like to change out of the clothes you're wearing? Then you can come and celebrate with us." Caspian offered. Lucy started bouncing up and down.

"Yes! Is everything where it used to be?" She asked excitedly, and Caspian laughed.

"Most likely not, considering no one here except you was here before it collapsed, but it's not that hard to navigate. All of the bedrooms are above us." Caspian had barely finished before Lucy had run by him. Susan glanced at Caspian before following Lucy. I saw her face fall slightly before turning a corner. Peter and Edmund followed their sisters and then it was just Caspian and me standing awkwardly.

"Do you want to go find something else to change into? You can stay in those clothes if you want." He offered.

"How much would I be standing out?" I crossed my arms defensively. I didn't particularly like standing out. Staying in the shadows was easier, and made it easier to observe everybody else. Caspian looked at my clothes and grimaced.

"Only, a lot." He said, somewhat sheepishly. I sighed and started after the others.

"But I don't like dresses," I whined to myself, but I heard Caspian laugh quietly behind me before he started back towards his wedding reception. I turned the corner I saw everyone else go around and then stopped. The corridor branched off in three directions. The one to the right had a set of stairs that led down, so I assumed that wasn't the one to pick. The one on the left however, had stairs going up. Cautiously, I jogged up the steps and started down the hallway that followed. Rubbing my hands on my shorts nervously, I looked for Edmund in the dozens of rooms that lined the hall. It was odd how different the clothes were here. They all looked shocked at my clothes, although honestly, most of my friends wore worse.

Finally, I heard voices talking farther down the hall. Once I located the room, I knocked hesitantly and the voices stopped. When no one protested to my presence, I pushed the door open slowly. Lucy and Susan were holding dresses up to themselves and examining them in front of a full length mirror. A large pile of discarded dresses were sitting on the bed next to them and a smaller pile that seemed to be the ones they hadn't gotten to yet. Neither moved when I shuffled into the room.

"Um, hi." I said quietly. "I have no idea what I'm doing so…"

Lucy understood where I was going and she pulled me farther into the room and Susan ducked into an adjoining room to change. She positioned me in front of the mirror and turned to the smaller pile. As she searched through the dresses, I looked at myself in the mirror. Compared to this world, Narnia, I looked out of place in my green tank top and jean shorts. Susan came back with her stiff clothes in her hands, which she dumped on the bed. In her dark red floor length dress and her dark hair down and brushed, she was really pretty. My strawberry blond hair and blue eyes seemed dull in comparison.

"Susan, you look so pretty!" Lucy exclaimed. She held out a dress in my direction and shook her head. "No, that won't work. Try this one," she threw the yellow dress on the discard pile and held up a deep green one. "That might work. Susan, what do you think?"

Susan scrutinized the dress Lucy was holding. She turned to look at all the dresses on the bed and picked up a blue one. "I think this one will be better." She gave it to me to hold then looked at the two dresses. "I think the blue one is better for her. What do you think Lucy?"

"The blue one." Lucy grabbed the green dress and threw it on the bed. "Go change and then we'll head down. This is going to be so fun!" She pushed me towards the room Susan had gone into and then picked a pale yellow dress off the bed. I closed the door behind me and stared at the dress.

On principle, I avoided dresses and skirts as much as possible. But if I wanted to not be stared at too much, the dress was the best way to go. I quickly pull my shirt over my head and pull the dress over my head. I decide to keep my shorts on, it's not like anyone will notice. And I wasn't ready to completely leave Earth behind. The jean shorts felt more comfortable than the dress anyway. I twisted the ring on my middle finger as I stepped in front of the mirror in the room.

The dress was pretty, I'll admit. It was more comfortable than any of the dresses Nikki or Lily had ever shoved me into. It was dark blue and the bodice clung loosely to my torso before falling in folds to the floor. Bright silver thread outlined the edges of the dress, and the sleeves were loose three quarter ones. I pulled a lock of my hair onto my shoulder, twirling it nervously.

"Eva, are you done?" Lucy called. I smoothed the hair back down, and then walked back to the other room. Susan was sitting on the bed, her hands folded in her lap. Lucy was spinning in front of the mirror, her yellow dress fanning around her.

"Let's go!" Lucy grabbed Susan's hand and tugged her out the door back towards the ceremony. I trailed behind, not far enough that I would lose them, but not close enough to hear their conversation. They were chattering excitedly, probably about this place. They seemed to be happy to be in this world.

By the time we reached the throne room, the dancing and talking had started again. Lucy and Susan integrated seamlessly, but I hovered near the giant doors. Everyone in the room had something to do or someone to talk too. Lucy was talking with one of the short people, a man with red hair and a long red beard. Susan was dancing, and Peter and Edmund were talking with Caspian. People would constantly come up and greet the three of them. The queen, Lilly something or other, was talking to people too, she conversed with Lucy, who I think Caspian had said knew her already. When she tried to meet Susan though, Susan slipped to the other side of the room.

Not knowing what to do, I moved into the room, staying close to the wall and dodging groups of people and creatures. People gave me inquisitive looks as I moved past them, but they looked away when I glared back. There were simple chairs scattered near the edges of the room. Most people were up and moving around, so I had my pick of seats. I settled myself in one of the chairs near the back wall. The people, and creatures, in the room mostly ignored me, most flocking towards the Pevensies. They were treated as royalty, at least among the creatures in the room. The humans, at least I was assuming they were human, looked like they were polite to them.

"Who are you?" A deep voice said from above me. I jerked forward, startled, and leaned my head back to see who was talking to me. It was one of the horse people, centaurs. He had long brown hair and had pointy ears. He was wearing armor from his human half and up, and like most of the other centaurs, his hand was resting on the hilt of his sword. I didn't respond.

"Who are you?" the centaur repeated, not hostile, just curious. His voice was calm and deep, he reminded me of the wise people in movies. He sounded older than he looked.

"Uh," I paused, "Eva Harris."

"Why are you here?" the centaur asked. I shrugged and leaned back against the chair again. The centaur didn't move, not even blink. It was unsettling.

"Wish I knew," I muttered and crossed my arm again. The centaur continued to regard me. "Who are you?"

"I am Glenstorm." He said, but didn't elaborate. We stared at each other for a couple moments as I didn't know what to say and he didn't seem to have anything else to say. "Are you a centaur?"

Glenstorm smiled slightly. "Yes," he looked like was going to continue, but Caspian called him over and he smiled politely at me before strolling over. He was taller than everyone other creature in the room, and people stepped out of his way as he went to talk to Caspian. I sighed as I scanned the room. Everyone else was having a great time, while I was sitting in the corner with no one near me. I was regretting changing into the dress, as nice as it was I was uncomfortable in it.

Two people walked past me back towards the main area. I turned to try and find where they could have come from. I was in the corner; there was nowhere to be coming from. A thin strip of light ended at me feet, and it entered from a door a couple of feet from my chair.

_How did I not see that?_ I wondered, but got up and pushed the door open. The strip of light expanded until it was a rectangle with a shadow of me in the middle. Glancing behind me, I didn't see anyone look up. No one seemed to want to talk to me, so I stepped out and closed the door behind me.

I was standing on a small balcony overlooking the ocean. It was maybe ten feet long and five feet wide. A stone railing was high enough for me to lean on easily. The water was clear and amazingly blue, like the water in the Caribbean. Below me was the beach with light colored sand and the green tops of trees. The sounds from the reception were muted and the sound of the water on the shore mostly drowned it out.

I pushed myself up onto the rail and swung my feet out so I was facing the water. A strong gust of wind would probably blow me over and down the cliff, but I couldn't find the energy to care.

The landscape in front of me brought back memories of Nikki. The beach was her favorite place to be, and she always dragged Lily and me to the beach. The beaches in California were always crowded, but if Nikki was happy Lily and I didn't mind being there. Both Lily and I preferred the mountains farther north, where there was slightly less people and the temperatures were lower.

Nikki would swim and flirt with all the boys around here, which was a lot as all the boys flocked to her. Lily and I would watch and laugh at her suitors farther up the beach. There were street vendors everywhere, selling hot dogs, pretzels, cotton candy, corn dogs, and basically anything you could want. By the end of the day Lily and I would be stuffed, and Nikki would finally leave the water and come hang out with us before we had to leave.

_Don't think about it._ I rubbed my eyes before looking back over the water. I didn't want to think about Nikki or Lily right now. Nikki was gone and who knew if I would ever see Lily again. I gripped the railing hard and blocked off my memories.

A slight wind had picked up, and the once clear sky was gathering clouds. The party inside still seemed to be going strong. It had looked like it would be going on for several more hours, so I settled myself on the stone railing and watched the sea. The clouds slowly got bigger and darker, until small raindrops started to fall. I didn't move as the rain got heavier and heavier. I had always liked rain, even though half the time I got sick after sitting in it. I sat on the railing and tried to ignore the memories of Nikki as the rain fell around me.

So, hello after six, seven months. I didn't mean to disappear for so long, but I got a really bad case of writer's block, and then school started again and I sort of forgot. It's amazing how well procrastinating on my midterm studying really got me wanting to write again. Plus, I lost folder that held all of my fanfiction plots and stuff. I've searched everywhere in my room, but it hasn't turned up yet. Oh well.

Anyway, I've decided that I'm going to focus on only one of my stories. I'm not going to finish my Maximum Ride one; I hated Nevermore and never really had a plot for it anyway. I'll probably either work on my Inception one or this one. I haven't decided yet. Or maybe I'll switch off. And I've recently learned that I love the Lord of the Rings trilogy. And of course I have an idea for a fanfiction on that too. I'll ignore that for now, I'm going to try and finish the ones I've started.

How many if you actually read that author's note? Not that it really matters; it was mostly me talking to myself. Whatever. If you have midterms right now, good luck. Mine just finished, so we have today off so the teachers can start grading them. If you already had midterms, I hope they went well!

~Mutant Ninja Penguin


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